NEWTOWN — Their season ended a few days sooner than they would have liked it to. But, the girls of Upper Merion High’s volleyball team, despite losing their final match of the season, can look back at the season finale with pride.

In a PIAA Class AAA tournaments semifinal match at Council Rock South’s spacious gym, the Vikings faced a formidable task — trying to hand the defending state champions their first loss of the season and attempting to shut down the best player in the state.

The Vikes tried hard but accomplished neither.

Parkland captured the match 3-1 and Kelly Robertson, who is a potential First Team All American, ruled the net and controlled the play all over the court.

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With the win, the Trojans improved to 23-0 and have won 67 matches in a row. Parkland earned a berth in Saturday’s state championship final while Upper Merion concluded its season with a 23-3 record.

Parkland, which has been undefeated for the last two years, was the favorite but Upper Merion got off to a better start. The Vikings took the first game 27-25 and almost captured the second before losing 25-22. The Trojans earned a 25-12 win and then closed with a 25-21 victory in the fourth.

The key to Parkland’s victory was the stellar play of Robertson. The tall, athletic senior, who is heading to Penn State on a volleyball scholarship, came through with crucial points time and time again. She finished the match with 38 kills and six blocks.

“Our defense was getting better,” said UM coach Tony Funsten. “Then, she (Roberston) started measuring the ball. When she was in the air, she started looking around before she hit it.”

Upper Merion senior Natalie O’Neil said, “Even though we lost, it was fun to play them. Number nine (Robnertson) is so unbelievable. She’s the best player I’ve seen. It was a great experience just to play against her.”

In the opening set, the two heavyweight teams traded blows and neither flinched. Heading down the final stretch, the teams were tied at every stop from 18-18 to 25-25. Then, the Trojans gave away a point on a net serve and followed by hitting the ball out of play.

In the second set, Parkland went ahead 7-1 and the Vikes came back to draw even at 7-7 on a five-point service run by Carlye Odorisio. Neither team would let the other pull away and the game was deadlocked at 20-20. With her team ahead 23-22, Roberston slammed the door with hard-hit kills for the final two points.

Upper Merion scored the first point on the third set and Parkland responded with four unanswered points on two kills, a tip and a block — all by Robertson. Parkland opened up a seven-point lead (11-4) on a five point service run by Lindsay Iacobelli and the Vikes were never able to get any closer than five for the remainder of the game.

The fourth set was more like the first two. The Vikings held their own and were tied with their much taller opponents at 19-19. But, the Trojans, who had their sights set on a trip to York to defend their title, were not about to be denied as they scored the set’s final three points.

“We knew we had to be patient against them and we weren’t in the first set,” said Parkland coach Mike Krause. “They’re a smart team and they have very good ball placement. We told our girls that they had to be patient — especially on the blocks.

“After the first game, we slowed Kelly down. She was trying to run a faster offense. Instead, we slowed it down and ran the middle higher. Kelly is a very strong offensive player.”

Robertson said, “In the first set, we were too anxious. And, it was in a very spacious gym where the crowd wasn’t loud. We’re used to smaller gyms that get really loud.

“We needed to have patience against them. The first game was definitely an adjustment game. But, we knew we could do it if we stuck to our game and played the way we can.”

The match was the final scholastic competition for O’Neil and her classmate Casey Griffith.

“It’s a horrible feeling to see it end,” said Griffith. “Tonight, Kelly just owned the net. We spent most of the match trying to figure out how to hit around her. But, no matter what we did, she found a way. We’re going to be on the same club team now so it’ll be nice playing with her instead of against her.”

Even though they lost in Tuesday’s match, the Vikings can feel good knowing that they played well in their finale. They can also take comfort in knowing that they would have had to play out of their minds to knock off a team as good as good as Parkland — especially with Robertson playing one of her best matches of the season.